Bill Would Ban E-Cigarette Sales To Minors In Connecticut

March 12, 2014|By WILLIAM WEIR, bweir@courant.com, The Hartford Courant

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Wednesday that he wants the state to ban the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors.

Malloy and state Department of Public Health Commissioner Jewel Mullen discussed a piece of legislation, Senate Bill 24, that would prohibit the sale of electronic cigarettes to anyone under the age of 18.

Anyone who sells electronic cigarettes — also known as "e-cigarettes" — to minors could be fined up to $200 for the first offense, $350 dollars for the second offense within 18 months and $500 for each subsequent offense within 18 months.

The same bill would also increase the fines for vendors who sell cigarettes out of their original packages. Currently, violators can be fined up to $50 for a first offense; the bill would increase to $200.

The sale of electronic cigarettes are not currently regulated in Connecticut.

"There are currently no age restrictions to sell, give or possess electronic cigarettes in Connecticut," Malloy said. "Let's pass this bill and get our children as safe as possible."

If the bill is passed, Connecticut would join 27 other states that regulate the purchase of e-cigarettes.

Mullen said research has shown that youths who smoke e-cigarettes are more likely to smoke tobacco.

"Nine out of 10 smokers start before they're 18," Mullen said. She cited a study that found that 5.4 million children alive today will die of smoking-related diseases.

"That's a serious health problem, compounded by the very addictive product, nicotine, now available through electronic cigarettes."

E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices, often shaped like a cigarette, that vaporize a liquid solution containing nicotine and other chemicals. The device heats the solutions and creates a vapor that the user inhales. Although often marketed as a safer alternative to cigarettes and even as a method for quitting smoking, health experts say not much is known about the health effects of e-cigarettes.

Last September, state Attorney General George Jepsen and colleagues at 39 other states and territories sent a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration urging regulators to classify electronic cigarettes as "tobacco products" and prohibit their sale to minors.

Earlier this week, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro urged President Barack Obama issue the regulations on the marketing of e-cigarettes that have been under review by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs since October. Blumenthal and five other U.S. senators have also introduced federal legislation that would ban marketing e-cigarettes to minors.